


Wholeness

by Shadowmatic



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Prequel Trilogy, Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008) - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Aristophanes - Freeform, Brief mentions of Alcibiades, Brief mentions of genitals, Cuddles, M/M, Not remotely graphic, Philosophy, Plato’s The Symposium, brief mentions of sex, plato - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-08
Updated: 2020-10-08
Packaged: 2021-03-07 23:35:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 940
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26885989
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Shadowmatic/pseuds/Shadowmatic
Summary: Sometimes being awake in the middle of night means that Obi-Wan gets a little philosophical.
Relationships: CC-2224 | Cody/Obi-Wan Kenobi
Comments: 1
Kudos: 73





	Wholeness

“Penny for your thoughts?” Cody asked, and Obi-Wan flushed, glad that Cody couldn’t see his face. The question in and of itself wasn’t that unusual. Sometimes Cody would ask it in the moments of silent contemplation that they shared in their life, but mainly it came up when neither of them could sleep, spooned together in their bed in the dark. Obi-Wan briefly considered lying before changing his mind. 

“Have you ever read any Plato?” He asked, pressing closer to Cody’s back. 

“He’s the allegory of the cave guy, right?” Cody asked, and Obi-Wan hummed in agreement. 

“He was a Greek philosopher.” He said. Cody chuckled. 

“No, I haven’t. I’ve never been much for philosophic texts.” 

“That’s okay.” Obi-Wan knew that, but he had still wanted to ask, just in case. 

“Why were you thinking about Plato?” Cody asked, wrapping one of his hands around Obi-Wan’s where it was resting at Cody’s waist. 

“In one of Plato’s dialogues, the Symposium, Plato has the only comedic poet whose plays we still have, Aristophanes, tell this story, I don’t know if you’ve ever heard it.”

“Probably not.” Cody said. “Tell it to me?” Obi-Wan appreciated it so much that Cody actually seemed to care about what he had to say. To Cody, it probably wasn’t much, but to Obi-Wan, it meant everything. 

“He says that in the beginning all humans were these globular beings that had two heads, and four arms and four legs and etcetera, and these beings were happy, because they supposedly didn’t desire for anything, except then the beings wanted to take over Olympus, because that was the one thing they didn’t have, ultimate power, and so the gods split them in two.” Obi-Wan was glossing over some details, but he wasn’t trying to teach a philosophy course, he was trying to tell his boyfriend what he was thinking about. “And because these beings had been so used to being one individual that initially they would just throughly intertwine themselves and not do anything until they died, so the gods brought their genitals around to the front, and that fixed the problem.” Cody huffed a laugh. 

“Wait, what?” He asked.

“I know, it’s weird. They reproduced with the earth somehow, it’s unclear, and so they didn’t know that their genitals existed.” 

“Just saying that it’s weird is a bit of an understatement Obi.”

“I know.” Obi-Wan said. “There’s not really much detail surrounding that part of the myth.”

“Right. Sorry. Keep going.”

“It’s okay.” Obi-Wan pressed a soft kiss to the back of Cody’s neck. “They brought their genitals to the front and so the beings, now humans as we think of them, had sex and then relaxed and moved on with their lives, still seeking that wholeness, but it was a lessened desire.”

“This still doesn’t make much sense. Why were you thinking about this in the middle of the night?”

“I’m getting to it. Knowledge of this story was necessary to explain what I was thinking of.”

“Okay.” 

“That was Aristophanes’ explanation for love and desire, which is what the whole Symposium was about.” Obi-Wan said. “And, so that’s why different people desire the people they do, because they are seeking the wholeness that those original beings had, and Aristophanes goes on to say that if Hephaestus came to two lovers after they had had sex and told them that he would make them into one individual that they would say yes. And that’s what I was thinking about. That I would give up my individuality if that was what you wanted.” 

“Fuck Obi-Wan.” Cody said, his hands tightening on Obi-Wan’s. “I don’t want you to give up your individuality for me, but I think I understand what you’re trying to say. I love you too, you massive nerd.” Obi-Wan laughed and squeezed Cody’s hands back. They fell into silence. 

“I love you.” He whispered, the first time he had said it to Cody, the first time he had said it to anyone in quite some time, and Cody shifted slightly. 

“Can I ask you a question?” He asked. 

“Of course.” Obi-Wan wasn’t sure if he could stomach trying to answer a question about why he hadn’t said it before when Cody had said it so many times, but he would try. 

“What’s a symposium?” Cody asked, and Obi-Wan couldn’t help his laugh. 

“It’s a kind of dinner party that the ancient Greeks would hold.” He said. “Plato’s dialogue was a probably fictional account of one that happened before the end of the Peloponnesian War.”

“Oh. Before or after Alcibiades’s betrayal?” Obi-Wan wasn’t surprised that Cody knew about that, even if he didn’t know about the philosophy of the time. He knew that Cody’s father had taught them a lot about warfare.

“Before. He actually shows up at the end, very drunk, and gives his own speech.” Cody laughed. “It was written after though.”

“Can I roll over?” He asked. Obi-Wan moved his hands, and Cody rolled over, bumping his nose against Obi-Wan’s. “Can I kiss you?” 

“Yes.” Obi-Wan said, and Cody pressed a dry kiss to Obi-Wan’s mouth. 

“I love you.” He said. “And, just so you know. Even though you’ve said it once, it doesn’t mean that you have to say it again.”

“I. Thank you.” Obi-Wan whispered. “I love you too.” He started to yawn, and raised a hand to cover it.

“Alright.” Cody gently bumped their noses together again, this time on purpose, probably. “Time to stop thinking about philosophy and go to sleep.”

Obi-Wan hummed his agreement, and closed his eyes, letting Cody hold him close and holding him close in turn.

**Author's Note:**

> Here’s a good animation of Aristophanes’ speech, if you’re at all curious about having a better description. It is in French, but it has subtitles.  
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4paSMqKYXtY


End file.
